ML19233A243

LTR-19-0326 Sen Edward Markey, Sen Elizabeth Warren & REP William Keating, Letter Urges to Delay the Final Ruling on the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station License Transfer Request from Entergy & Holtec Until After the Commission Has Ruled Upon

ML19233A243
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	08/21/2019
From:	Markey E, Warren E, Keating W US Congress, US SEN (Senate), US HR (House of Representatives)
To:	Kristine Svinicki NRC/Chairman
Shared Package
ML19233A245	List: ML19233A243
References
LTR-19-0326
Download: ML19233A243 (2)

Text

otongrenn of t}fe lltniteh §taten lllasqington, ilC!r 20515 August 21 , 2019 The Honorable Kristine L. Svinicki Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-16G4 Washington, DC 20555-0001

Dear Chairman Svinicki,

We write to urge you to direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff to delay final ruling on the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station license transfer request from Entergy and Holtec (Docket No. 50-293 & 72-1004) until after the Commission has ruled upon the petitions and motion currently in the proceeding docket, including the petition filed last week by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We also wish to express our support for the petition filed by the Commonwealth to request extra time in which to file a stay application, following the official order from NRC staff on the license transfer.

NRC staff evaluated the application to transfer the Pilgrim license from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. to Holtec International and Holtec Decommissioning International and have recommended that it be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission next week. As part of these proceedings, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Pilgrim Watch, a local citizens' organization, both filed petitions to intervene and for hearing requests. An additional petition from the Commonwealth to stay the proceedings was denied by the Commission on August 14, 2019, in part because the NRC staff had not yet issued the official order for the license transfer.

On August 15, 2019, the Commonwealth filed an emergency motion asking the NRC for a short enlargement of time to file a stay application on the license transfer pursuant to 10 CFR Section 2.307 and 10 CFR Section 2.1325 , in order to allow the Attorney General ' s office more time to discuss a settlement with Entergy and Holtec. The citizen group Pilgrim Watch wrote in support of that emergency motion. A ruling from the NRC on this emergency motion is still pending.

The Commission has prioritized nuclear industry timelines over the public interest throughout the license transfer and decommissioning process, and it appears to be moving forward without regard for the repeated expression of stakeholder concerns. As Holtec and Entergy refuse to sit down and discuss the transfer with involved state and local parties, the Commission' s PRINTED ON REC YCLED PAPER

intervention is increasingly necessary for transparency and a rigorous evaluation of the transfer request. As a result, we express our support for the Commonwealth' s application to extend the timeline for intervention to allow for more time to reach a settlement with Entergy and Holtec as well as for the dual petitions for hearings and interventions.

Sincerely,

~~~ Edward ~ arkey United States Senator United States Senator